Memorable Mints

Here’s an idea to harness your sense of conviction in the face of low expectations.

When Winston Churchill was 75 years old the former Prime Minister who led England to its finest hour during World War II, posed for a professional photographer. “I hope that in 25 years I will take your picture on your 100th birthday,” gushed the young photographer. Churchill looked him over slowly and then said: “I don’t see why not young man. You look reasonably fit and healthy to me.”

The photographer grinned.The accepted line of thinking had become the “excepted.” That’s what leaders do. They make exceptions to the accepted rules of others.

Leaders, seasoning their thinking on aging, become the Sage of Age. They defy others’ low expectations. They are quick to perform in the face of a perceived adversity like that seasoned citizen who boarded a crowded city bus in New York City. There were no vacant seats. It was standing room only. No problem.

The slightly built silver-haired gentleman reached up and got a grip on the overhead bar. Then he looked across the way and he made eye contact with a lovely young woman. The young woman sprang to her feet.

“Please sir, go ahead and take my seat.” She smiled knowing that she had done her good deed for the day. The old man smiled back at her. He reached up with the other hand and started doing chin ups on the overhead bar. People throughout the bus began applauding. The young lady sat back down.

The commonly accepted had become the surprisingly “excepted.”

As you continue in your leadership roles, may you season your thinking on age with that kind of sage behavior and celebrate the notion of famed playwright William Shakespeare that: “Some never seem to grow old. Satisfied yet ever dissatisfied, settled yet ever unsettled. “They always enjoy the best of what is and are the first to find the best of what will be.”